With all the hats that you have to wear as a busy small business owner, it's completely understandable if you find yourself wondering: Does my business need email marketing?

I mean, it takes time to craft great copy for emails, and time to design an eye-catching template. Time to build your contact list, And time to find the right automated email host for you. Besides, who even uses email these days anyway, when everyone talks on Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger…Turns out, a lot of people.

A core part of marketing is ‘Be where your audience is.’ And email is one of the easiest ways to accomplish this – we all need email addresses, after all, to sign up for this and log on to that. But if that’s not reason enough, how about…It’s still ridiculously popularYep, it might be surprising, but despite the invention of all those other messaging apps and social sites, nothing has ever really competed with email directly.In fact, there are around 5 billion email addresses out there, and it’s constantly growing. It’s also the primary way that people want businesses to communicate with them. According to a study from Adobe, 63% of people prefer marketing offers sent via email.It’s cheap AND effectiveThis is the holy grail of marketing, right? You’ve got a neat product, or offer a fab service, that the world needs to know about – but you don’t want your marketing budget spiralling out of control and cutting into your profits. Because it’s so inexpensive to send just one message to hundreds in a heartbeat, email generates way more ROI compared to a lot of other methods.Accurately target your marketUnlike social media marketing, which relies on composites to build up a profile of your ideal target market, email marketing is just so… direct. You can choose exactly who receives your email, and precisely what your message to them is. The best way to start here is to collect email addresses on your own site – that way, you know the people you contact are those who are genuinely interested in your business.Tailor your messageSince you can target folks with laser-like focus, you can create specific messages for specific sections of your market. So, you can craft emails designed to generate leads or conversions with engaging content, remind repeat customers of related products and services, or just nurture your existing base with hot deals just for valued customers! Like any great conversation, email encourages a continued back-and-forth dialogue, not just a robotic one-off message.Raise awareness of your companyEmail is the ideal way to raise awareness of your business. Sure, it’s quick and easy to alert people to your grand opening, or some cool product no-one can live without, but it’s also worth adding newsletters and announcements to your email roster. These enable you to contact your audience without hammering home a sales message, while reminding them of your business. This can be really effective for those offering services. It can be difficult to keep people interested when they’re not looking for what you offer. Emails ensure that you’re always in their mind, and in their inbox, for that magical moment when they need your services.Cement your brand personalityJust because emails are the digital lifeblood of a business doesn’t mean it has to be stuffy and uptight – especially if that doesn’t jive with who you are as a company. Like your business blogs, email should also be used to lift the veil on your company – show the reader who you are, what your personality as a brand is. Whether you present yourself as caring, authoritative or just super-friendly, email offers that beautiful clarity.So, does your business need email marketing?Yes. It’s not just a popular and convenient means to communicating with existing and potential customers, email marketing is just so adaptable to your business needs – no matter who you’re targeting, what you’re saying, and how you’re saying it.

Luckily, here at Little Lemon Marketing we can help you land directly in your customers’ inboxes. With prices starting at just £40, what have you got to lose?